November 30, 2009
That Terrible Stage Two Again

Nicholas Kristof writes this telling piece detailing the hidden costs, and willfully ignored implications, of Obamacare:

Sure, it would be great if John had health care insurance. But at what cost to everybody else? Should women under 50 be denied mammograms so as to hold down health costs so that John can have government-subsidized insurance? How about men over 70 with slow acting prostate cancer? Should we deny them treatment on the assumption that something else will kill them first, so that the government can afford to insure John?

The point is that Kristof and his ilk are basically running a con. They want you to focus on the most sympathetic cases, while ignoring the large and amorphous mass of individuals who will be adversely affected.

All the wishing in the world will not make the fact that we have scarce resources which must be allocated carefully go away. Trying to legislate it away courts disaster, and ensuring conservatives and libertarians are around to take the blame will not clean up the mess any faster.

Posted by scott at November 30, 2009 07:13 PM

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